Community Builders - Christmas Edition

A holiday story of cloud builders, this is the Jenn Bergstrom edition, check out the other posts from my fellow AWS Community Builders on why they love the program and learn more about them too!*

What surprises you most about the community builders program?

How much we all have in common even though we come from vastly distinct areas of expertise, years of experience, job roles, countries, etc. The Community Builders really drives home the fact that we are all part of the human race and that we can all learn and grow from each other, which I adore.

What’s your background and your experience with AWS?

When I stepped back into my career after nearly 7 years of focus on my two kids, I found a job with a small company. We didn't want to invest in building an on prem network so looked to AWS as an alternative. And our customers were hungry for expertise in Cloud, so skilling up made a lot of sense. I transitioned from being a software engineer to a cloud developer, then to a cloud infrastructure / cloud architect, and now (6+ years down the road) I'm a multi-cloud solutions architect with experience building solutions using AWS, Azure, GCP, and OCI. (But AWS is my favorite).

What’s the biggest benefit you see from the program?

Definitely the connections and support everyone in the program provides to each other. It is wonderful having friends from around the world who all share a common interest and drive to learn. The AWS credits, which enable a lot of fun play using AWS services, the certification voucher, and the swag are lovely as well.

What’s the next swag item that you would like to get?

I love swag that is eco-friendly and fundamentally useful. Things like reusable cups and straws, charging banks, and apparel are always awesome. As random as it may seem, kitchen utensils / gear would be amazing - spatula, apron, hot-pads, bowls, etc. Another thing that would be super cool is a Community Builders flag that we could take with us and plant somewhere temporarily for photo ops and so on.

What are you eating for dinner today? Share the recipe!

I am probably cooking Pork Katsu with rice and veg for dinner tonight. Pretty simple recipe - coat pork chops with sour cream and seasoned panko breadcrumbs and pan fry to desired done-ness. Cook rice in salted water with a little chopped garlic, fluff with fork and stir in butter to taste; sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper. Chop a selection of veggies and steam to al dente, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. To serve, slice pork into 3/4 inch (about 2 cm) thick slices. Put rice on plate, spread pork over rice and spoon veggies beside. Drizzle pork with warm katsu sauce and sriracha to taste. Enjoy!

Is there anything else you would like to share about the community builders program in 2022?

Anyone who loves to learn, grow, and help others to do the same, who is passionate about building well-architected solutions on AWS, should consider applying to be a community builder! I was just recently renewed for my 3rd year and I am thrilled to be able to continue growing with this amazing cadre of individuals from around the world. The Community Management Team at AWS is fantastic and put their heart and soul into making the program a truly wonderful offering, and it is an honor to be a part of the Community. Thank you so much, Jason Dunn and team, for your dedication to all of us!

*Introduction sentence stolen wholesale from Alex Radu, who made a simply lovely post about this topic too.